'This novel stands successfully on its own, its characters fleshed out and in full possession of their idiosyncrasies — all magnificently conveyed by narrator Steve Worsley...He captures perfectly the novel’s dark wit and the region’s pugnacity, bringing a sense of festivity to the police crew’s inventive, anatomically challenging insults and foul execrations.' – The Washington Post

'MacBride is a masterful storyteller with a terrific eye for detail and razor-sharp wit. This House of Burning Bones is an absolute must-read.' – Karin Slaughter, author of This Is Why We Lied

The Granite City is ready to burn, and all it takes is a single spark . . .

In the heat of a blistering summer, Aberdeen’s police are struggling: half the force is off sick, leave has been cancelled, someone’s firebombed a hotel full of migrants, and there’s a massive protest march happening this Saturday.

With officers dropping like flies, Detective Inspector Logan McRae is forced to juggle cases and run a major murder investigation with a skeleton staff of misfits, idiots and malingerers until the top brass can arrange back-up from other divisions.

It doesn’t help that the Aberdeen Examiner has just been bought by Natasha Agapova, a tabloid media tycoon hell-bent on blaming local police for everything. And she’s more than happy to fan the flames.

But, as bad as everything seems, it’s all about to get much, much worse . . .